Results of deep-well injection testing at Mulberry, Florida

At the Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation plant, Mulberry, Fla., high-chloride, acidic liquid wastes are injected into a dolomite section at depths below about 4,000 feet below land surface. In 1975, a satellite monitor well was drilled 2,291 feet from the injection well and a series of three injection tests were performed. Duration of the tests ranged from 240 to 10,020 minutes and injection rates ranged from 110 to 230 gallons per minute. Based on an evaluation of factors that affect hydraulic response, water-level data suitable for interpretation of hydraulic characteristics of the injection zone were identified to occur from 200 to 1,000 minutes during the 10,020-minute test. Transmissivity of the injection zone was computed to be within the range from 700 to 1,000 feet squared per day and storage coefficient of the injection zone was computed to be within the range from .00001 to .00005. The confining bed accepting most of the leakage appears to be the underlying bed. Also, it appears that the overlying beds are probably relatively impermeable and significantly retard the vertical movement of neutralized waste effluent. (USGS)